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Kedema
Kedema is the only vassal state of the Theridan Empire on the mainland of Northern Paledia. The Kingdom of Kedema was spared by Emperor Therid I during the Wars of Expansion due to their alliance with Therid's forces that allowed the Empire to come into being. As the largest of the Empire's vassal states, Kedema is often treated more kindly than the other minor islands states, though it is still required to provide the Empire with tribute. Kedema is regarded as an entirely human state, though it is often claimed that sightings of Wild Races are heard in the countryside. Very few, if any dwarves or elves live there. History The history of Kedema truly begins at the opening of the Age of Many, centuries before the rise of House Therid and before even the founding of the Kingdom of Kedema, when most rulers of man still counted nothing more than city-states as their domain. Kedema can trace its origins to a number of these city-states along what is now their coast. The people of these coastal cities, the Valerii, were ruled by various forms of government including both monarchies and republics. Largely a seafaring people, the Valerii traded throughout the Narrow Sea, competing and occasionally cooperating with one another as well as other naval powers including Aldbourne and the founders of Daend and Hared. Over time these city-states formed a number of alliances with one another to the point that almost all of them were connected to the others by one of their alliances. It was Prince Dorehan of the city of Kedema who first proposed this association be made formal, and after countless negotiations most of the cities agreed to join together in a confederation. Though the members of this confederation were nominally equals, after years of politicking Dorehan had managed to gain a great deal of influence over his allies. The alliance had been overwhelmingly beneficial for its members and with both the political and public mandate to increase the prosperity of Kedema and her allies he had little difficulty gaining the support to bring those city-states that wished to remain fully independent, mostly the democracies and republics, into the fold whether they liked it or not. Dorehan would not live to see the end of what would come to be called the Wars of Unification. While there were a large number on both sides who desired for the holdout states to join the confederation, most stubbornly resisted diplomatic efforts and despite his political skill he found it difficult to convince many of Kedema’s allies to commit soldiers to the task. It would be Dorehan’s son, Ferrard, who would realize his goal of uniting the coast If Dorehan was an ambitious man, then his son was even more so. Though not the intellectual or diplomat his father was, Prince Ferrard was clever and skilled at swaying the common man to his cause. While his father had been perfectly willing to simply sway the other members of the confederation to his cause, the unwillingness of Kedemans so-called allies to commit resources to a cause they all stood to benefit from rankled with the young prince. A short war with Daened that ended in the favor of the confederation’s rival provided Ferrard with the opportunity to turn a defeat into a victory. Blaming the widely known ponderous manner in which the members of the confederation came to consensus on the loss, he argued that a single state under a strong leader was required. With the support of the common man and those of his allies he enticed with titles of nobility, Ferrard was offered a crown by the leaders of the other city-states, and was confirmed as King Ferrard of the Kingdom of Kedema. Now a kingdom divided into duchies and countships rules by his nobles, Kedema changed little for many decades, as its fortunes waxed and waned. It would not be until the rule of Ferrard’s grandson, Dorehan II, that the nation would experience its next great change. Though Kedeman settlers had been trickling north from the coastal cities into the grasslands and forest to their north since before the confederation, the nation’s expansion had been slow, more concerned with trade and its competitors across the sea than securing more resources at home. Dorehan II, frustrated by losses against Aldbourne and Daend suffered during the reign of his father, turned his attention to the untamed lands north of Kedema where it was reported there were bountiful resources and rich soil. Determined to increase the power of his kingdom, the young king resolved to lay claim to these lands, though he would soon find it would not be as easy as he suspected. Though Kedema’s northward expansion greatly quickened, the further reports of abundant land for growing and grazing attracting many, it was soon revealed that though these lands were extensive, to the north and west were rugged hills and highlands which were in fact populated. The people of these highlands, now known collectively as the Boedic peoples, were skilled riders who primarily subsisted on raising livestock and had begun to settle the plains out of a need for more grazing land. Several skirmishes between the Valerii and Boedic peoples only exacerbated tensions between them and both began preparing for war, the tribes of the Boedic peoples gathering under the banner of one of their strongest clans, led by the horsemen Oisean. War was averted however, by last minute negotiations between Dorehan II and Oisean conducted with the aid of Oisean’s daughter Rhadith, for whom Kedema’s modern capital is named. While popular accounts of how these negotiations came to pass are largely romanticized, what is known is that a political union was forged between the two peoples that was cemented with the marriage of Dorehan II and Rhadith. In return for joining the Kingdom of Kedema, the heads of the more influential Boedic clans were granted titles of nobility. While the popular version of the story holds that Rhadith convinced her father and future husband to negotiate after falling in love with the king of the Kedemans is a subject of some debate, what is accepted by scholars is that Rhadith played a vital role in negotiations. It is thought that Rhadith had lived some years amongst the Valerii after being captured and held as a hostage and having learned their language and receiving a rudimentary education, became an important advisor to father, who while a powerful leader was both illiterate and had no knowledge of his enemy’s language. Unlike the queen-consorts of Kedema’s later history Rhadith was very much a co-ruler who aided her husband in handling problems with his Boedic subjects, who over time would intermingle with their new Valerii countrymen until over time both peoples’ languages and cultures merged into those of modern Kedemans, and it is for this reason that one of the Queen’s stylings is “Queen of the Boedes.” While this turning point in Kedemas history brought them peace and prosperity on land, they were not nearly so fortunate on the seas. As had been the case for most of Kedema’s history, Dorehan II and Rhadith’s heirs found themselves constantly in conflict with their rivals in the narrow sea in an ever shifting series of temporary treaties, wars, and alliances. It was during the reign of Dorehan II’s grandson that the kingdom’s ancient capital of Kedema was set ablaze during a war with Aldbourne, prompting the king to make Rhadith, which was growing into a great city by that time , the new capital. Though old Kedema would recover after this war, it was only a shadow of its former self. When Lord Therid began his conquest of Paledia, King Cerras saw a golden opportunity for Kedema, not only in being the main access to sea trade for the Therid’s still landlocked empire but also the chance to have lasting ally against old enemies. Therid was receptive to their offer and Kedema became one of the few nations who managed to survive the rise of the Theridan Empire. As Therid’s ally King Cerras gained some land from the conquests of nations around Kedema that he aided, though the Empire took vastly larger amounts of land, but the true reward in the eyes of many Kedemans was aiding in the fall of Aldbourne, the destruction of their great fleet a proper revenge for the razing of old Kedema. Satisfaction with the kingdom’s relationship with the Theridan Empire would not last forever, though. Over the years any benefits to Kedema from the two nations’ relationship became less and less apparent, or ended all together. The Empire, now in control of most of Paledia’s coastline, had no need for access to the sea through another country and eventually it was decided that Kedema should pay tribute to the Empire for the privilege of its independence. This perceived loss of their country’s honor rankled with many Kedemans and if there was a large revolt in the Empire it was not uncommon for there to be similar insurrection in Kedema. It was during one such revolt sparked by those caused by the role of Nelomar I that the leaders of the mage guild House Quadesh were accused of taking part in the insurrection by the anti-mage nobles of Kedema and arrested or executed. With most of their leaders dead, imprisoned, or in hiding most of the mages of House Quadesh joined their former rivals in House Rokās Hephaestus, which increased in prominence and absorbed more and more smaller mage guilds until it was the premier guild in the kingdom. Despite the unrest amongst his people, Kedema’s current king and his nobles claim to remain loyal to the empire and only time will tell what the future holds for Kedema. Geography The nature of Kedema’s geography is one of contrast. While mainly scattered forests, towns, and the fields of farmers cover the gentle terrain of the coasts, the highlands of the north are much more rugged with settlements, mines, and herds of livestock nestled amongst hills great and small. Where the west is covered in forest and lake the east is a great plain, its introduced crops and native grasses stretching from Rhadith to the Plains of Valmere. Though valuable precious stones and rarer minerals must be traded from Asirar and Southern Paledia most resources are bountiful in Kedema, taken from the mines or forests and used locally or transported by caravans to the city and towns for industry or trade across the narrow sea and Kedema’s border with the Empire. Not without its notable features, both natural and manmade, Kedema is home to the High Road connecting Rhadith and the town of Kedema, the Lake of Mists in the eastern forests, the Samaen Crags in the highlands, or mysterious ruins located throughout the north, east, and west. Society Though like Paledia's other nations Kedema has traditionally been ruled by a monarch and nobles who swear fealty to him, the society of the country is far from feudal. While many famers and workers remain tied to the estate of a lord due to lack of any other options, there is little actual serfdom in Kedema and as the population grows so too do the cities and towns populated by artisans and craftsmen. Having derived most of its wealth from trade throughout its history, it comes as no surprise that Kedema’s merchants have become quite powerful to the point they have formed a social class all their own, viewed with suspicion by the nobility even as they fight with one another to gain more power for themselves. A powerful force in this merchant class is that of the mages, many of them having utilized their powers for commercial means. The Kingdom’s reputation as a solely human nation is due mainly to the eviction of most of the population of the Wild Races during the Wars of Conquest. At the urging of his new ally Therid I and anti-nonhuman interests inside Kedema, King Cerras ordered his army drive them from his realm and into the west and those who could not escape captured and sold into slavery, usually abroad. Of course, there are always rumors of Vargr sightings in the eastern woods and more rugged reaches of the highlands, fueled by the stories that some of the wolf-men were aided by Kedemans who practiced old religions that held the Vargr as noble spirits whom man should respect for his prowess in the hunt. It is no secret that the sway the old folk religions held over those in more rural areas(and still do, though more subtly) were the main reason many of the more modern religions in Kedema supported the eviction of the Wild Races. Unlike most of the nations in Paledia, Kedema never had any populations of dwarves or elves of much note before the rise of the Empire and has relatively few today. While there are a number of nonhuman slaves that live in the kingdom the majority of these serve masters in Kedema’s ports, loading and unloading cargo at the docks alongside their foreign brethren. Slavery is not exactly uncommon, though, and there is a sizeable population of human slaves, who often serve Kedema’s nobles, ever wary of strange and new things. Category:Vassal States Category:Nations